The Los Angeles Lakers (record 47-35, 8th place in the West) will have a trip to the Denver Nuggets (record 57-25, second place in the West) at Ball Arena, Denver’s home stadium at 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, April 23.
This is Game 2 of the 2024 NBA Playoffs round 1 series in the Western region. The Denver Nuggets are the team with home field advantage due to their higher seeding. In Game 1, Denver won 114-103.
Odds: Denver Nuggets -7.5 points
O/U ratio: 223.5 points
Match information: There were no surprises in Game 1 when the Los Angeles Lakers once again fell to the Denver Nuggets, receiving their 9th consecutive defeat against the defending NBA champion team.
LeBron James and his teammates started quite well in Game 1, at one point leading Denver by 12 points with an impressive defense and effective offensive play. But with a mistake at the beginning of the third quarter, the Lakers’ entire advantage was erased by the Nuggets before the home team rose up and won the final game in the fourth round.
Before entering the Playoffs, Denver Nuggets and Los Angeles Lakers met three times in the Regular Season. There, the winner is always Nikola Jokic and the defending NBA champions, with scores of 119-107, 114-106 and 124-114, respectively.
Notable stars : Nikola Jokic is averaging 26.4 points, 12.4 rebounds and 9.0 assists per game for the defending NBA champions. Next to him is Michael Porter Jr. with 15.6 points in the last 10 appearances.
On the Los Angeles Lakers side, Anthony Davis averaged 24.7 points, 12.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 2.3 blocks per game. LeBron James is right behind with 24.9 points, 8.8 assists and 7.4 rebounds in the past 10 games.
Comment on the 2024 NBA Playoffs match – Los Angeles Lakers vs Denver Nuggets Game 2 on April 23, 2024
Looking back at Game 1, the Los Angeles Lakers lost when their offense was not capable of “exchanging fire” with the Denver Nuggets in the second half of the second half and the beginning of the third half. Also during this time, the Lakers “lost fire”. ” due to many turnovers and missing open 3-point shooting opportunities (D’Angelo Russell shot 1-9 3PT).
Experts believe that these are mistakes that can be corrected with more adjustment and care in deploying attacks, something the Lakers will likely do in Game 2.
On the other side of the front line, the Denver Nuggets, led by Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray, still look dangerous at home. They played too well and did not give the Lakers defense any chance to make a save.
However, the NBA Playoffs are a game of adjustment and change. LeBron James’s old mind will likely be able to help the Lakers do better on both ends of the court to challenge the Denver Nuggets, not giving them a big and easy win.
With this information, the Los Angeles Lakers are predicted to be able to make it difficult for Denver in Game 2. They may not be able to win the match, but this will likely be a more evenly matched match.
Experts say: Los Angeles Lakers +7.5 and U/223.5 points
Performance in the past 10 matches:
– Host Denver Nuggets won 6 and lost 4. The team scored an average of 115.0 points per game with 49.4% FG and allowed opponents to score 106.7 points/game.
– The away team Los Angeles Lakers won 7 and lost 3. The team scored an average of 119.5 points per game with 50.7% FG and allowed the opponent to score an average of 115.4 points/game.
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Injury situation:
– Denver Nuggets has the strongest squad.
– Los Angeles Lakers are without Christian Wood (knee), Cam Reddish (ankle) and Jarred Vanderbilt (foot).
